


A Mother's Responsibility

by ibelieveinguardianangels



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Worry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:20:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26532007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ibelieveinguardianangels/pseuds/ibelieveinguardianangels
Summary: ""You could have died, JJ!" Spencer stressed, his voice breaking as he did so, emotions fighting for control again and JJ sighed." Spencer is upset when JJ does something reckless. ONE-SHOT. COMPLETE.
Kudos: 10





	A Mother's Responsibility

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on Fanfiction.net on Jan 14, 2018.  
> This is set after Henry's birth, I'd say around series 5 or 6.   
> Sorry for any mistakes.   
> Thank you for reading.

He'd refused to talk to her all the way back to the hotel they were staying in. Other than his angry ranting about how stupid and reckless she had been, he'd sat quietly, tears falling down his cheeks. He refused her attempts at comfort and the silence in the back of the SUV was only broken by his occasional sniffling. She wanted nothing more than to wrap him in her arms and hold him until he felt better, but she knew that he was far too angry with her to let her do that.

Which was why she was now sat in her hotel room, perched on the bed, hoping that he was okay. He'd rushed off to his own hotel room, directly opposite hers without saying a word to anybody. She had just been about to get ready to try and get some sleep, noting with a glance at the clock that it was almost 2am, when she heard his telltale knock on her hotel room door.

"Spence-," Was her breathy greeting as she pulled the door open.

"No." He shook his head, his eyes were still red-rimmed and puffy and she wondered how long he had continued to cry on his own. "No, I'm here to talk. You're going to listen."

She nodded simply, stepping aside to allow him access into the room.

"What were you thinking, JJ?" He hissed as she turned to face him after closing the door. He was standing in the centre of the room, his body language displaying the anger he was still feeling towards her. "Of all the stupid things you could have done..." Those words were said under his breath, but JJ still heard them. "We were right behind you!"

"I know," She tested, wanting to make sure he was going to allow her to talk. When he just raised his eyebrows at her, crossing his arms over his chest, she continued. "And I'm sorry that I scared you, Spencer. I'm really sorry that I made you cry. But I'm not going to lie to you - I'm not sorry for what I did. I saved that little girl's life."

"We were _right behind you!_ " He stressed. "You put your life on the line, JJ. You didn't know what you were walking into. If you'd just waited two seconds-,"

"I didn't have two seconds, Spencer. _Rosie_ didn't have two seconds."

Little Rosie McAlpine had been abducted from her home in the early hours of that morning. She was the sixth girl to go missing. The UnSub had been disposing of their little bodies in remote locations within 24 hours of their abduction. They had been pushing the 23 and a half hour mark when they had finally discovered where he had been holding them. JJ, understanding the severity of the situation, had rushed in to save her the second she heard her calling for help.

She had rushed in alone, despite knowing that there was a very high chance the UnSub, Aidan McGrath, was still in there. She was right. After a short scuffle, Morgan and Reid had joined her, easily overpowering the UnSub as she had freed the terrified child.

"You could have _died_ , JJ!" Spencer stressed, his voice breaking as he did so, emotions fighting for control again and JJ sighed.

"I know that. But that's what we do, Spencer. We put our lives before others. It's what makes us better at our jobs. I'm okay, and so is Rosie. You have every right to be angry at me, but you have to understand why I did it."

She watched as Spencer seemed to deflate, lowering himself onto her bed and hiding his head in his hands.

"I do understand." He said after a moment of quiet, his voice slightly muffled. "But that doesn't make it any easier to deal with. We could have lost you today, JJ. If Morgan and I hadn't arrived when we did," He lifted his head to look at her and she could see the unshed tears swimming in his eyes again.

She took a seat beside him on the edge of the bed, debating whether or not to touch him. His hands had fallen to rest in his lap as he'd moved to look at her and she shifted her own hand, intending to take his.

"This," He said, taking her hand and gesturing to the bandage that was wrapped around her forearm. The UnSub had managed to get in a good swipe with his knife, slicing into JJ's skin. "This is because you just had to rush in there without backup. A few moments," Spencer whispered, a tear falling from his eye and sliding down his cheek. "That's all you needed to wait."

"I wasn't going to let her die, Spencer," She gently wiped the fallen tear away.

"I wasn't expecting you to." He let her hand go and covered his face again and she could see his body convulse with sobs he was trying to keep under control.

"Spence," She wrapped a tentative arm around his back and, when he didn't pull away, she wrapped her other arm around him, pulling him into her. She hated that she had caused all of this upset, but she couldn't, as a mother, let a child die when she could do something about it. "I'm not going to lie and pretend I won't do it again, but I will promise you that I'll be more careful from now on."

She felt his arms slowly wind around her waist as he returned the embrace and she held on tightly. She watched the alarm clock over Spencer's shoulder, watching as the minutes ticked by until Spencer finally pulled back from the hug.

"You're my best friend," He whispered, "I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you."

JJ smiled softly, returning the sentiment.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading.   
> ibelieveinguardianangels


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